


A Mutual Adjustment of Interests

by orngepeel



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, it's honestly both, or Tumblr AU with College AU elements, with Tumblr AU elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-03
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-09-14 11:43:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9180076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orngepeel/pseuds/orngepeel
Summary: The sticker design is simple, sleek, even. It’s a dark blue background, her family’s coat of arms on the left, and the Tumblr logo on the right, sharing the space with a QR code. In the center sits the word ‘Supergirl’ in gold.///AU where Kara comes out as Supergirl in college, doing small jobs. Winn and James help her run a Tumblr blog for Supergirl. Meanwhile, everyone maintains their own personal blogs.Sideblog shenanigans and slow burn SuperCorp ensue.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ok i literally reset my password on here so i wouldnt have to post this on tumblr cause that would be a little too meta honestly. anyway here i hope u like it.
> 
> sidenote: i came up with everyone's tumblr urls in this au, and i didnt check, nor do i plan on checking, if theyre real blogs or not. we're gonna have to suspend some belief here, and if i used your url im sorry

Second semester of sophomore year was in full swing; classes had started two weeks ago, and Kara already was behind on her astronomy reading. She had been slacking in that class, which was entirely her fault. She really only registered for the class because it would be an easy science credit--one that could really boost her GPA. It was basically going to be information she had learned back on Krypton, just from a different perspective--literally. Kara had gotten overconfident, and she realized, during the last lecture, that she had to get it together.

Winn and James had come over to her apartment, so they could all motivate each other to stay focused. That was the plan, anyway. Kara’s book was open to the correct chapter, but in the half-hour since the three of them started studying, she hadn’t turned the page once. She adjusts her positioning, crossing her legs in front of her, and straightening out her book on the coffee table. “We should order a pizza,” she blurts out, leaning back against the couch.

“How much have you read?” James asks her, not even bothering to look up from his notes.

She scoffs at the implication that she’s unfocused. She is  _ so _ focused. She has never been  _ more _ focused. “Like,” she hesitates momentarily, thinking about how much time had passed, and how much she could have realistically read, even if she  _ were _ unfocused. “Almost a page?”

The lilt in her voice makes James look up; all he does is raise an eyebrow.

“Fine,” Kara groans. She’s busted. “I’ve read the first sentence a hundred times, and I still don’t know what it says.” 

James stands up, setting his notes down on the seat behind him. He twirls his highlighter in his hand as he makes his way over to where Kara is sitting. 

The moment he uncaps the highlighter, Kara stops him. “Don’t you dare write on this book, it’s a rental.”

James rolls his eyes and caps the highlighter again. He turns the book, so he can see it better, flipping through the pages to find the end of the chapter Kara’s supposed to be reading. It’s only twelve pages, it’s not like it should be taking her this long. He pulls a Starbucks receipt out of his pocket and slips it three pages in. “Read to there, then we can talk about a pizza.”

Kara watches as James scoots back to the chair and lifts himself back into it. “Okay,” she breathes to herself. “You can do this, Kara.” She takes a deep breath and  _ commits _ to her reading.  _ It’ll be pizza time in no time _ , she thinks to herself.

She’s halfway through the second page when Winn sits up from where he’s sprawled over the couch and sets his laptop directly in front of her. “Check out this sticker design,” he says.

“Winn,” Kara breathes, her nose scrunching in frustration. “I am  _ trying _ to--”

“Just look,” Winn slides off of the couch, taking his place next to Kara on the ground.

“Oh,” Kara pulls his laptop closer, adjusting the angle of the screen so she can see it better. The sticker design is simple, sleek, even. It’s a dark blue background, her family’s coat of arms on the left, and the Tumblr logo on the right, sharing the space with a QR code. In the center sits the word ‘Supergirl’ in gold. “I actually really like that.” She lifts the computer, taking it over to James, so he can see.

“Looks good,” James agrees. “But what’s it for?”

“You know,” Winn gestures vaguely. “To promote the blog.”

“The supergirl blog has over thirteen thousand followers last time I checked,” Kara says. “I don’t think it really needs to be promoted.”

“No, I actually think Winn might be right about this, Kara,” James takes the laptop from Kara, and hands it back to Winn. “Think about it, you have thirteen thousand followers, but how many students are there at National City University?”

“almost twice that,” Kara answers, crossing her arms.

“Yeah, and how many of your followers are high schoolers?” Winn asks.

Kara hesitates for a moment before realizing that the boys are right. Maybe promoting the Supergirl Tumblr wasn’t such a bad idea. She needed way more reach, especially on campus, and there’s not much that students react more positively to than stickers. “How many are we ordering?”

Without missing a beat, Winn switches to Chrome, pulling up a custom prints website. “I think we should start with five-hundred.” He doesn’t give Kara or James any time to protest. “A couple hundred to plaster around campus, and the rest to leave around in the library and dining halls for people to take.” He’s already filling in his credit card information. A few clicks later, he lets them know that the order should arrive on Thursday.

Kara has to admit, the stickers weren’t a bad idea. She just wishes Winn hadn’t interrupted her when he did. If he’d waited just a few more minutes, until she had finished just a page and a half more of her reading, they’d be ordering stickers  _ and _ a pizza. Instead, she was going to have to refocus. She picks her textbook up off of the coffee table, adjusts her glasses, and steps around Winn so she can curl up in the corner of the couch. 

Not even a minute passes before James’ phone starts buzzing. Kara looks up. He holds up a finger as he answers his phone. Kara makes eye contact with Winn, the both of them squinting a little, silently asking each other if they know what he’s up to. Neither of them do. Another moment passes and James has left the apartment. Both of them shrug. The assumption that he’ll be back soon is enough for them to go back to what they were doing. Kara still finds herself glancing at the door every so often.

It’s barely three minutes before the door swings open again, and Kara’s already on her feet, because as soon as the door opens, she can smell the pizza.

“I knew you wouldn’t be able to focus if you knew--” That’s all James is able to get out before Kara flings her arms around him.

“You are amazing!” She squeals. The hug only lasts for a moment, because the smell is making her  _ hungry _ . Before James can even set the box down, Kara’s opened it and inhaled half a slice.

James just laughs and grabs a slice for Winn and for himself, before Kara inevitably claims the rest of the pizza for herself.

* * *

Kara’s bed feels much more comfortable in the morning than it usually does, and it takes her three extra times hitting the snooze button on her alarm clock to realize she really should already be out the door. Who is she kidding, though, at this point she’s going to have to leave through the window to make it to her astronomy class on time.

Quickly, but reluctantly, she hops out of bed. She throws on the supergirl outfit--she had to if she planned on flying to class. While she brushes her teeth, she finds a pair of NCU sweatpants, a T-shirt, and a sweater to throw in her backpack. All of ten seconds are spent combing through her hair before she realizes the wind is going to render this effort useless anyway.

Backpack in hand, she takes off. Her apartment is only a few blocks from campus, so it’s just a matter of seconds before she makes it to the roof of the science building. She slips behind the AC unit, changing into the clothes she had packed earlier. Her hair goes into a loose ponytail, and as soon as her glasses are on, she makes her way inside as inconspicuously as possible.

Kara wasn’t late. There were still three minutes before the scheduled start time, but she was late enough that most of the seats in the lecture hall were filled. She couldn’t just slip into her normal seat, because the guy who usually sits two rows ahead of her is in it. Unfortunately, this meant she was going to have to find a new spot. She quickly scanned the room for an empty seat.

She finds one near the end of one of the rows. “Is anyone sitting there?” she asks, leaning over two people in order to get the attention of the girl next to the empty seat.

The girl shakes her head. “It’s all yours,” she says.

Kara smiles and slides into the aisle, apologizing profusely to each person she has to squeeze past in order to reach the chair. Once seated, she takes her notebook out of her backpack, and flips to the next blank page.

She couldn’t tell if Professor Luzano was moving through the slides slower than usual or if her catching up on the readings had already proven helpful. She suspects the latter when, out of the corner of her eye, she notices the girl beside her looking over at her notes when the slide changes.

Kara looks up from her notes to the image on the PowerPoint. She nudges her notes, angling them so the girl can see them better.

“I’m sorry,” the girl whispers, making a visible effort to write faster. “I just missed that last bullet point.”

“You’re fine,” Kara smiles. “Don’t worry about it.”

The rest of class passes quickly, interrupted only occasionally by her neighbor missing something the professor said, or when he switched the slide too fast. The only other thing of note was Professor Luzano reminding the class about an online quiz that was due by class on Friday.

“I’m Lena, by the way,” the girl says once he dismisses the class, reaching her hand out to shake Kara’s. “Thank you for letting me copy your notes.”

“Oh,” Kara adjusts her glasses and awkwardly slings her backpack over her shoulder, holding it in place with her left hand so she can shake Lena’s hand with her right. “Really, it was nothing.”

Lena keeps eye contact longer than Kara expects, kind of like she’s expecting her to say something else. She raises an eyebrow and Kara’s eyes immediately widen.

“My name!” she blurts. “Right, it’s Kara... obviously,” she shakes her head, realizing that what she said makes absolutely no sense. “Obviously for me, not you. ‘Cause, why would y--”

“Nice to meet you, Kara,” Lena cuts her off, saving her from the rambling disaster she almost became.

“You too,” Kara beams, and the two of them file out of the aisle and make their way to the lecture hall’s exit. “We should sit together again on Friday.” The second that it takes Lena to ponder this suggestion is long enough for Kara to tack on an “if you want” just in case.

“I’d love to,” Lena returns the smile, then checks the time on her phone. “I have to grab lunch before my next class, but I’ll see you Friday.”

Kara nods, and the girls part ways. 

* * *

She heads to the campus library, because she has some time to kill before her next class. She could spend it getting ahead on some readings. At least, that’s what she would do if she were really responsible. Instead, she finds an empty chair in a quiet corner, pulls her laptop out of her backpack and sets it on the desk in front of her, and promptly pulls up Tumblr.

She checks her notifications first, immediately noticing five copies of the “ **winn-3r** mentioned you in a post” notification. Kara didn’t even need to click to know what was in the posts. She pulls out her phone to text Winn.

> **Kara:** Seriously, you need to stop tagging me in alien memes. It’s not subtle!

Within seconds, Winn is already typing a reply.

> **Winn:** Not to you, maybe! None of my followers know you’re an alien. It’s subtle to them, and they don’t even know it
> 
> **Winn:** That’s how subtle it is
> 
> **Winn:** (Super)

Kara rolls her eyes, shaking her head as she types out her response.

> **Kara:** Winn, I’m serious!!
> 
> **Kara:** Also, your url is stupid.
> 
> **Winn:** Alright, tumblr user @potst1ckrs
> 
> **Winn:** Go reblog mac n cheese grilled cheese sandwiches or something
> 
> **Winn:** I’ll stop with the alien memes
> 
> **Winn:** unless they’re really funny

She sighs. That was good enough for her. She knew Winn had a point. If anything, his followers just assumed she really liked memes, which was true, she just wasn’t Winn. His blog was mostly memes, video games, and tech. Kara’s blog, on the other hand, was mostly food, text posts, and sunsets--which were always a reminder of Krypton. 

If they hadn’t met in the dorms last year, they would never in a million years have followed each other. At least, Kara wouldn’t have followed Winn. He probably would’ve followed her if he got hungry enough.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really wanted to finish this sooner, but #WritersBlock hit me hard, and school started up, so i have less time. BUT im having a lot of fun working on this, i hope yall like it.

On Friday, Kara wakes up early enough to walk to class. She genuinely enjoys days like this, where she could take her time, and take in the scenery. Where she could watch the other students around her, like the one’s walking home from their 8 AM classes. There were two types of students walking home this early. There were the ones who looked like they never fully woke up and were probably going to go back to sleep, these were sometimes the ones who had so much caffeine in their systems that they looked like they forgot what the word sleep even meant. She rarely saw the other type: the type who enjoyed being up early, the ones who had probably been up since before the sun rose—by choice.

Last year, she consistently woke up to watch the sunrise. She never knew quite how to describe how it made her feel, but she loved it. Since she came out as Supergirl, she often stayed up later, breaking up drunken brawls, stopping the occasional mugging or break-in, but usually walking girls home after they stayed at the library later than they meant to. That didn’t mean she never got the chance to watch the sunrise anymore, it just happened less frequently. Sometimes she missed it, usually on days like today, but in the choice between Supergirl and the sunrise, Supergirl wins every time, no contest.

When she got to the lecture hall, less than twenty of the seats were filled. She hadn’t shown up this early since the first day of the semester. Usually, when she shows up, over half the seats are filled, and most of the students have no qualms with speaking at a normal volume at that point. Now, however, it was almost silent. The handful of conversations going on were whispered.

Kara catches sight of Lena, immediately noticing a jacket draped over the seat beside her—the one Kara had sat in on Wednesday. A half-skip, half-walk takes her down to the aisle. She makes it there just fine, but her foot catches the corner of a seat as she turns into the row, and she almost, _almost_ , falls face-first into a desk. Luckily, she manages to catch herself before that happens.

Lena stifles a laugh, clearly having seen the whole thing happen. She moves her jacket off of the chair for Kara to sit. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine!” Kara says, doing her best to compose herself before she plops down into the seat. It doesn’t exactly work; she can’t help but laugh, just a little bit, at how stupid that just was. She shakes her head, choosing to redirect the conversation before it has a chance to really start. “How did you do on the quiz?” she asks.

And maybe that was a question Kara shouldn’t have asked, because Lena presses her lips together in a sort of ‘thanks for reminding me about all of my failures’ way. “Not quite up to my standards,” she says. “Don’t get me wrong, I did well. I just wish I did better.”

Kara nods. She may have gotten a perfect score on the quiz, but she understood the feeling; it was one she dealt with a lot when she first started the whole Supergirl thing up—like there was something more she could have done. “Um, this may come off as condescending, but I really don’t mean it that way,” she starts, pulling out her phone, tapping on it as she spoke, until she’s on the ‘New Contact’ page. She types Lena’s name, and offers her the phone. “But, we could meet up sometime and go over it together, or study for the next one.”

Lena’s eyes flick between Kara’s face and her phone for a moment before she takes it. She doesn’t bother filling in her last name, just quickly types out her number before handing the phone back. “I’ll likely take you up on that offer,” she says.

“Great!” Kara smiles. “I’m putting the paper and pencil emoji next to your name. Oh, and also the eyes one.”

“Right,” Lena rolls her eyes playfully. “Because I copied your notes last class, I assume.”

“I can change it to the star emoji, ‘cause we’re in Astronomy, if you want,” Kara offers.

Lena shrugs. “Why not all three?”

“That,” Kara immediately acts on this suggestion, adding the star after the eyes, “is a great idea.” She looks at Lena, wondering just how much she must be judging her. But, if that were the case, Lena seems to have already moved on, writing the date on the empty page of her notebook. Kara follows suit, tucking her phone into her backpack and trading it for her notebook.

* * *

 After classes, Winn and James come over to Kara’s apartment; Winn brings the unopened box of Supergirl stickers, so they can all open it together.

The second they arrive, Winn sets the package down on the counter and goes straight for Kara’s desk drawer in search of her scissors, so he can open it. “They’re not in here,” he grumbles, continuing to rifle through the drawer, just in case.

“Winn,” Kara sighs. “They’re right there.” She walks up to him, pulling him away from the drawer. She bumps it closed with her hip and points to scissors, sitting in the pen cup on the desk. “Right in front of you.”

James laughs from across the room, and Winn shoots him a glare. He grabs the scissors and moves back to the counter. Kara and James huddle around him as he slices the tape and lifts open the box. He pulls out a few of the stickers, spreading them out on the counter.

Kara backs up to the couch, where she had earlier tossed her backpack. She takes her laptop out, and brings it over to the counter. “I’m putting one on here,” she says. She lifts one of the stickers, peels off the back, and carefully lines it up on the top left corner of her laptop. Slowly, she smooths it out, so there aren’t any bubbles trapped underneath. “How’s it look?”

“Awesome,” James says, leaning in to get a closer look. “Can’t wait to see them all over campus.”

“Speaking of which,” Winn cuts in. “Kara, you’re gonna have to be the one to stick them everywhere.”

“So you guys don’t blow my cover?” She asks.

“Nah, I’m just too lazy to do it,” he says, laughing. Kara squints, arms crossing over her chest, and the second her eyes meet his, he’s done laughing. “Woah, I’m kidding, it’s obviously the cover thing.”

* * *

This was looking to be a late night for Kara. Not only would it take at least a full hour—even with super speed—to plaster the Supergirl stickers all over campus, but it was also a Friday night. That meant parties, which meant fights and idiots and creeps. It was nothing she couldn’t handle, but she didn’t expect to be home until early in the morning.

She wasn’t wrong. Six bar fights, ten people flown home so they wouldn’t get behind the wheel, and twelve jerks intimidated into leaving girls alone later, she could already see the pink tint on the horizon. And not a single sticker on a campus bulletin board.

There isn’t a _real_ rush. Kara just wants to get this over and done with, so she doesn’t screw her sleep schedule up too much. Not that it ever really worked out that way during the term, but she could sure try.

Regardless, it doesn’t take her long to slap a few stickers on each bulletin board in each building. She even covers some offensive graffiti in a few stalls in some of the bathrooms around campus that she remembers seeing. Why not hide the negative vandalism with some positive vandalism?

With those bases covered, Kara takes the remaining stickers to the library, scattering them in various piles on different tables on the ground floor. After dropping the last pile, she takes out her phone, snapping a picture of said pile. She opens the Tumblr app, and posts the photo to the Supergirl blog, with the caption “Come grab one!” And as much as she wants to add a couple of smiling emojis, she refrains.

She double and triple-checks that she’s posting to the Supergirl blog, and not her personal one. Once she’s confirmed that, she taps the ‘Publish’ button, and makes her way out of the library.

* * *

Kara gets home, through the bedroom window, just before six. She’s ready to sleep the day away, or at least a solid chunk of it. But before she does, she shoots off a text to the group chat with Winn and James.

> **Kara:** Good morning!!
> 
> **Kara:** Stickers = plastered

And in a third text, she adds ten 100% emojis, and ten checkmark emojis, just to emphasize her point. She doesn’t expect either of the boys to respond until later.

She adds one more text, just for good measure.

> **Kara:** I also made a post on the blog!

She tosses her phone on the bed, quickly slipping out of the Supergirl outfit, and into her comfiest pajamas. She climbs directly into bed, grabbing her phone on her way under the blankets.

The second Kara gets comfortable, it occurs to her that she never texted Lena, so that she could have her number, too. Having realized this oversight, she immediately types up a new message.

> **Kara:** Hi! This is Kara Danvers, from Astronomy! I know it’s early, and a Saturday, so idk if you’re awake, but I just wanted to make sure you had my number, in case you wanted to study this weekend!

She adds a smiling emoji, and hits send. And then she waits a moment, wondering if there’s anything she forgot to say.

To her surprise, Lena’s already typing back. Kara shifts under her covers, waiting to see what she says.

> **Lena:** Thanks. I’m busy all day today, but if you’re free tomorrow, we can meet up at the library.

Kara mentally maps out the rest of the weekend, remembering tonight was a Saturday night, so it will likely be busy. Which means she’s going to be up late again, so Sunday morning won’t work. The afternoon should be fine, though.

> **Kara:** Great!!! How’s 2?
> 
> **Lena:** That works well for me. See you there.

After making a note in her calendar, Kara absently scrolls through the tumblr app until she can’t keep her eyes open any longer. At that point, she sets her phone on the bedside table, finally letting herself drift off.

* * *

It’s still early in the term, so the library isn’t crowded on a Sunday afternoon. There are a few people scattered around, hunched over textbooks on desks, highlighting way too much or way too little; but, for the most part, it’s quiet.

Kara texts Lena to see if she’s here yet. It doesn’t take long to get a reply.

> **Lena:** I’ve been here for a few minutes. I got us a table on the second floor.
> 
> **Lena:** Left of the staircase.

Kara nods, for herself more than anything, and with a little hop in her step, she heads up the stairs to find Lena.

She rounds the corner, her eyes meet Lena’s, and she shuffles over to the aforementioned table. “Found you!” she whispers, so as not to disturb the other people studying nearby. She carefully sets her backpack on the ground, next to the unoccupied chair at the table.

“I didn’t doubt you would,” Lena smiles. After a moment, her expression hardens, if only slightly. Still, Kara notices. “Thanks for doing this,” she says, suddenly breaking eye contact and looking at her hands.

In the time it takes Kara to say “Oh, it’s no problem,” and start rambling about how she really just loves the stars, and any excuse to help someone, Lena’s smiling again.

Kara sits down, and leans down to pull her laptop out of her bag and put it on the table in front of her. As she goes to open it, she sees something in Lena’s eyes that she can’t quite place. She looks hurt, or disappointed, or _something_ , but Kara’s not sure why she would be.

“So,” Lena clears her throat, now intently focused on her phone. “Supergirl, huh?”

“Wh-” Kara stifles a nervous laugh, again trying to minimize any disruption to those studying around them. “No, no, Supergirl? What? Why would you-”

“You have a Supergirl sticker on your computer,” she says, her voice sharp. “And you’re trying to deny you’re a fan?”

“Oh,” Kara blinks. “Right, you’re right. I am.” A hand goes to adjust her glasses on her nose. “I’m, for sure, a _fan_.” She studies Lena’s expression, trying to figure out what she’s thinking, wishing just a little bit that she could read her mind. “Do you… not like her?”

Kara isn’t sure she wants the answer.

“That’s not it,” Lena sighs. “I like her just fine. Superman, too.”

“So,” Kara’s more confused by Lena’s response than anything. “What exactly is the problem?”

Lena hesitates. Just for a moment. “Their fans,” she starts, turning in her seat, angling herself toward Kara. “They don’t… care for me.” And Lena must be able to tell that Kara has no idea what she means. She sighs. “Lex _Luthor_ is my brother.” The way she spits his name makes it feel almost like a poison, like if it were to sit on her tongue too long, it might kill her.

Kara swallows hard. “Oh,” is all she can say. She doesn’t know what else to say. But she doesn’t like the silence, doesn’t like the unspoken _he tried to kill Superman, and so many innocent people died._

“I transferred here to get away from him. From… _that_ ,” Lena says, her voice is deliberate, but honest. And that matters more to Kara than anything else.

She knows all about family reputation, and how hard it is to live up to, or get away from. She _gets_ it… at least as much as she needs to. “You’re not him,” she says.

Lena furrows her brow. “I know that.”

“I just mean,” Kara pauses, sorting the words in her head. She wants this to make sense. “If you write someone off just because of their name, or because of a sticker on their laptop, you miss out on a lot.” She puts a hand on Lena’s shoulder. “You’re not Lex Luthor, you’re Lena Luthor,” she smiles. “And, yeah, I’m The Girl With a Supergirl Sticker on Her Laptop, but I’m also Kara Danvers, and Kara Danvers isn’t going to treat you like Lex unless you give her a reason to.”

Lena’s eyes soften, and there’s the slightest hint of a smile in the corners of her mouth. “Thank you,” she says softly.

“It’s nothing,” she says. And then she remembers the reason they’re even here right now. After a brief pause, she turns to her laptop, and Lena follows suit. “So, which questions did you miss?”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading, i hope you enjoyed. hmu on tumblr if you want @orngepeel


End file.
